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Never Let Your Kids Sit In The “W” Position. Here's Why!

Being a parent means spending most of your time caring for your children, meeting their needs and accompanying them in their first s...

Being a parent means spending most of your time caring for your children, meeting their needs and accompanying them in their first steps in life. As they grow, we do our best to guide them and avoid whatever is likely to harm their physical and mental health. In this article, we will shed light on a very common habit of children and babies who are starting to sit and who may cause them much harm. Let's discover together the adverse health effects of sitting in W!

When a baby begins to crawl, it is quite normal that he is trying to explore his environment. That is why, as soon as an object arouses its interest, it does not hesitate to take a short pause to examine it. To move from the four-legged position to the sitting one, nothing is easier than to straighten by placing the backside on the ground and keeping the legs bent underneath and spread apart. If your child spends long periods sitting in this position, said in W, this can cause him a lot of problems in the development of his bone and musculature.

What are the effects of sitting in W on health?

This position is one of the eight most common positions adopted by an infant. It is true that it gives it stability and comfort, but it remains constraining and limits its freedom of movement, especially with regard to the rotation of its bust which remains essential to the acquisition of the sense of balance by the following.

By sitting thus the child rests all his weight on his pelvis and the joints of his hips and therefore has no need to solicit the muscles of his trunk, whether abdominal or dorsal, to balance. In the long run, this will lead to a weakening of these muscles and to the interruption of the development of its motor abilities. In contrast, the muscles of the thighs are too much stressed to compensate for the reduced mobility of the trunk, and will therefore contract. However, this prolonged contraction can lead to a muscular shortening at their level. In cases where children retain this position throughout their childhood, they usually show difficulties in carrying out a number of basic activities such as avoiding falls, jumping or playing football.

In addition, this very natural position of the legs exerts too strong tensions on the ligaments of the joints, causing an internal rotation of the hip as well as joint instabilities especially in the knees. The body will try to compensate them by a curved posture or a way of walking with the feet inward, thus causing additional skeletal and orthopedic complications (arched legs).

If we combine all these complications with lack of coordination and motor skills, this can lead to a reduction in the physical activities that can be realized on a daily basis and thus increase the risk of obesity and heart disease.

How to deal with a child sitting in W?

As pointed out above, the position in W is quite common in infants. However, it is advisable to ensure that the time spent sitting in this manner is minimal and that it is not the preferred playing position. If this is the case, it is strongly recommended to gently correct the child's position by encouraging him to adopt a healthier, cross-legged position or with his legs extended in front of him and his feet Pointing upwards.

These positions allow her to maintain an adequate body center of gravity, to involuntarily involve the abdominal and dorsal muscles, to learn to coordinate the different movements of her body and to balance, while preserving her joints and muscles.